Letters: A future of a four day week
[Re: Employers expected to up the ante if they want to retain the best staff. 13th October]
It’s no surprise that a four-day week is the most desirable benefit for British workers, while an office bar is now bottom of the list (and presumably bean bags and ping pong too). It’s not without its challenges – but it has more upsides than downsides.
Work will be fresher, deeper and more human because people have more time to centre themselves. Colleagues are more productive. As a result, they grow in confidence: it’s a virtuous circle. Shifts need a bit of creativity. Splitting days off and changing team sizes will guarantee cover for the whole working week
[Re: Labour squeeze shows no sign of cooling before Christmas retail rush. 15th October]
Halloween is the next big day on the calendar but, with recent horror stories of impending Christmas shipping chaos, shoppers want to avoid real tears after 2020’s last-minute lockdown tiers.
Retail success will be determined by how shopper interactions are managed. Steps to protect retailer reputations should include having the necessary capacity of well-trained customer support staff and software to process the heightened volume of eCommerce purchases.
Strained supply chains, lack of staff and import-export politics have prompted ING economists to predict the shipping crisis will last until at least 2023.
The problem isn’t going away anytime soon. Retailers must be ready to manage customer expectations.